Rebel Opens 3,000Sqm Flagship Store in Hobart

Rebel opened its largest Tasmanian store on Murray Street in Hobart in September 2026, spanning 3,000 square metres across two floors. The flagship created more than 40 jobs.

The two-level site replaces a former H&M location in the central business district. It brings the sporting goods chain to three outlets across the state alongside existing stores in Rosny Park and Launceston.

Interactive format on Murray Street

This Hobart flagship is the retailer’s second Rebel Customer Experience format in Tasmania. An interactive football zone lets shoppers test boots and equipment before paying. The store also stocks gear for cricket, basketball and Australian rules football.

Shelf space leans heavily into Tasmanian Devils teamwear and guernseys ahead of the state entering the Australian Football League. Dedicated testing zones help defend physical store sales against online sports apparel retailers.

Shifting footprints across regional centres

Athletic specialty stores face rising occupancy costs in central business districts, yet taking over vacated department and fast-fashion spaces provides pre-built foot traffic. For landlords, experiential sporting anchors balance slowing apparel footfall in secondary city centres.

Conversion rates must stay high to justify multi-level rents. Interactive zones increase customer dwell times, but they require higher staffing ratios on the floor to manage testing areas and equipment fittings.

Five-year expansion targets 70 stores

Super Retail Group appointed Jenny Child as managing director of Rebel earlier in 2026. Store portfolio expansion sits at the centre of the brand’s capital deployment.

We know how passionate Tasmanians are about sport and with the state’s first AFL team on the horizon, there’s never been a more exciting time to open a store of this scale in Hobart.

Hobart’s opening kicks off a five-year development cycle aimed at mid-sized and regional hubs. Rebel currently operates 39 regional locations across Australia. It plans to scale that network to 70 sites by June 2031 across RCX, foundation and compact formats.

Next openings in the pipeline

Rollout schedules over the next four quarters will determine how quickly Rebel opens the remaining 31 regional sites to meet its June 2031 target.